LONDON – SIR Alex Ferguson admits he plans to have little contact with football once he retires as Manchester United manager. The 69-year-old intends to remain with United for as long as he feels healthy enough to cope with the stresses and strains of life at Old Trafford. But Ferguson, who decided to retire and …

LONDON – FERNANDO Torres became the third most expensive player in football history when he joined Chelsea for a reported 50 million pounds ($103m) from Liverpool on Monday. The Spain striker signed a five-year contract at Chelsea in a move described by Liverpool as a British record. The fee is bettered only by Real Madrid’s …

LONDON – LIVERPOOL has rejected a bid from English Premier League rival Chelsea for striker Fernando Torres ahead of the January transfer window closing on Monday. Chelsea is in need of a new forward to help its faltering title defence after slipping from top to fourth in the standings, 10 points behind leader Manchester United. …

LONDON – RYAN Giggs believes Sir Alex Ferguson could continue as Manchester United manager for another five years. Ferguson, who turned 69 last month, has refused to consider retiring since he announced he would quit after the 2001-02 season and then later changed his mind. In an interview with Sky TV magazine, United winger Giggs …

LONDON – TWO of Britain’s leading football commentators were reprimanded by their TV network and taken off the air on Monday after making sexist remarks off-microphone about two female match officials and West Ham executive Karren Brady. Andy Gray and Richard Keys came under fire from all angles on Monday for their derogatory comments about …

The 37-year-old Corinthians left back and Brazil legend showed he still has a bit of dead-ball sorcery left in him with his corner kick against Portuguesa on Sunday, firing a quick shot directly at the far post. Naturally, it caught the goalkeeper off his guard and found the target.

IT COULD be a dream come true for millions of football fans in the region. Asean foreign ministers have agreed to study a possible joint bid to host the Fifa World Cup in 2030. A statement released on Monday by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that the ministers, who met at a just-concluded …

BERLIN – PAUL the octopus, who shot to fame during the football World Cup last year for his flawless record in predicting the outcome of games, will get a shrine to mark three months since he died, his aquarium said on Monday. The tentacled tipster will on Thursday be honoured with a ‘Paul Corner’ at …

LONDON – TEN-MAN Manchester United returned to the top of the Premier League here on Sunday after holding Tottenham to a 0-0 draw in a match that failed to live up to expectations. United’s hard-earned point saw them reclaim top spot from Manchester City on goal difference, although Sir Alex Ferguson’s unbeaten side have two …